1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing and more particularly to a method and apparatus for controlling the bias voltage at a wafer in a plasma etch reactor and the de-coupling of the radio frequency (RF) in the case of use of multi-RF sources.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma etch reactors are currently available with a dual radio frequency (RF) system, where each RF system can operate at a different frequency. FIG. 1 illustrates diagram 100 depicting a prior art dual frequency RF system containing two electrodes. The reactor of diagram 100 contains an RF-driven electrode 104 and a passive electrode 102 with a wafer 116 disposed on top of the RF-driven electrode 104. The RF currents are supplied to the RF driven electrode via hard bolted metal connection 110. Upon activation of the RF power source, the currents enter the plasma region via the RF driven electrode and follow the same paths through the reactor to the passive electrode 102 as depicted by arrows 114. Additionally, the RF currents proceed through the plasma region to ground extensions 116 and 118 as illustrated by arrows 114a. Since the current paths of the 27 megahertz (MHz) and the 2 MHz are similar, the 2 MHz and the 27 MHz frequencies are not de-coupled.
The prior art plasma reactors can not independently control the plasma density and the ion energy of the plasma in the chamber of the reactor. Typically, the higher frequency of the dual RF system influences the plasma density, while the lower frequency influences the voltages in the reactor, in turn affecting the ion energy. However, since the dual frequencies are coupled, it is not possible to independently control plasma density and the ion energy. While the power supplied for one RF system of the dual frequencies may be modified to increase or decrease the plasma density, the modification also has an effect on the ion energy. That is to say, the vectors controlling the plasma density and the ion energy are not orthogonal in a system where both frequencies are coupled. Therefore, a change in one parameter, such as the plasma density, also affects the other parameter (ion energy) and vice versa.
Additionally, the ratio of the area of the passive electrode to the area of the RF-driven electrode determines the bias voltage at the wafer. For example, as the area of the RF-driven electrode decreases in relation to that of the passive electrode, the bias voltage at the RF-driven electrode will increase. Consequently, since the wafer sits on the RF-driven electrode, the bias voltage at the wafer of the ions increases. As a result, the energy impinging on the wafer during etch operations increases. While high ion energy resulting from a high bias voltage, may be beneficial for some etch processes, it is undesirable for others. For example, high ion energy is preferred for high aspect ratio etching, i.e., drilling deep small contact holes in a substrate. Other processes, such as etching a trench, however, are optimal at lower ion energies. Unfortunately, the bias voltage control at the wafer is limited due to the geometry of the plasma etch chamber in particular, due to the electrode area ratio.
While it is possible to transfer the wafer to a plasma reactor having a different geometry, i.e., smaller diameter passive electrode for processes requiring lower ion energies, there is the added expense of supplemental capital equipment and the risk of contamination of the wafer because of additional handling. Another alternative would be to replace the passive electrode with a smaller diameter electrode, however, this alternative again adds cost and only exacerbates the contamination and handling issues.
As a result, there is a need to solve the problems of the prior art to allow for greater independent control of plasma density and ion energy of the chamber to optimally accommodate various etch processes. Additionally, there is a need to control the bias voltage at the RF-driven electrode over a wide range in order to adapt the reactor so that it may be finely tuned for various etch processes.